Fortunately “Rock and Roll Never Forgets” is followed by the title track, which I’ve always loved for its autumnal aura I find Seger’s soulful evocation of lost time immensely moving, and the wonderful melody underscores the song’s theme. It’s one thing to respect rock’s traditions, but you don’t have to be a suck-up about it, and I would lay odds that Seger hasn’t liked any new music since the heyday of the Sex Pistols. Night Moves opens with “Rock and Roll Never Forgets,” a decent tune that owes its allegiance to Chuck Berry and which I’ve never forgiven for reminding me too much of “Old Time Rock and Roll.” Its anthemic qualities have always left me cold, and what does he mean by saying rock and roll never forgets, anyway? Forgets what? Its truck keys? I do like its extended conclusion, which features some nice sax over guitar, but overall it only serves to underscore Seger’s inherently backwards-looking attitude towards rock. Which is undoubtedly why he’s been inducted into that den of iniquity, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He was John Mellencamp before there was a John Mellencamp, a purveyor of meat and potato songs that told stories and that never veered too far from a relatively conservative template that fit neatly into the classic rock tradition. Unlike fellow Detroiters the MC5 and The Stooges, Seger was never a firebrand instead he was the epitome of Heartland Rock, which pays due respect to rock’s origins and doesn’t have a musically radical bone in its body. Live Bullet finally propelled him to national stardom, and Night Moves solidified his status as a player in the big leagues. As much a product of Detroit as the trucks he’s helped to sell via the suckass “Like a Rock,” Seger played in or founded a number of bands-the most notable being The Bob Seger System-without achieving much more than regional success before forming the Silver Bullet Band in 1974.
Why he even helped the Eagles write “Heartache Tonight,” a song that deserves to be burned at the stake.īut I forgive him, because he’s also given us such great tunes as “Get Out of Denver,” “Turn the Page,” “Beautiful Loser,” “Looking Back,” “Katmandu,” “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man,” “Night Moves,” and “2 + 2 = ?” And his version of “Nutbush City Limits” is almost as good as Tina Turner’s. I’ve liked him since I first listened to my older brother’s copy of Live Bullet way back in 1976, and I continue to have a soft spot in my heart for him, this despite the fact that he’s the force of evil who bequeathed us such awful songs as “Like a Rock,” “We’ve Got Tonight,” and the dreadful “Old Time Rock and Roll,” which to his credit he didn’t write but still recorded, which probably merits the electric chair. The former included a couple of instant standards, while the latter made a convincing argument that seeing him live might just be a better bet than you think. He’s always been the consummate journeyman-someone you might go to see, but without being totally psyched about it-but in the bicentennial year of 1976 he rose above his station to produce two very, very good LPs, Night Moves and Live Bullet.
He’s the Rodney Dangerfield of rock, and this despite the fact that he’s written his fair share of memorable, and even great, songs. Through no fault of his own-or maybe it is his fault, I don’t know- Bob Seger has never gotten any respect.
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